This case study reports the results of a 6-year

(2005–2010) follow-up study of a world-class rowing crew,

the current world champions. The rowers were 15–16 years

old and prospective competitors at the junior level when

the study began in 2005, and we monitored their physical,

physiological, and rowing ergometer performance data

annually. Our findings indicated that over the 6-year period

gains in stature, averaged across rowers, amounted to only

?2 cm (?1%). In contrast, body mass increased by ?9 kg

(?10%) and fat-free mass by ?11 kg (?15%). A significant

linear trend (, P\0.001) and a ?26%

increase in maximal oxygen uptake (in L min-1) was

evident from 2005 to 2009, resulting in a leveling-off and a

crew average of *6.6 L min-1 (*70 mL kg-1 min-1)

during the last 2 years of assessment. Power output at

anaerobic threshold increased by ?23%, subsequently

amounting to a crew average of 359 W in 2010. Oxygen

uptake at anaerobic threshold, expressed as a percentage of

maximal oxygen uptake, changed little and ranged between

82 and 85%. A curvilinear regression provided the best fit

to describe the 6-year improvement (?7%) in 2000 m

(, P\0.001) and 6000 m (,

P\0.001) rowing ergometer performance times. Performance-

related physical and physiological parameters seem

to level-off at about 20 years of age, which may partly

explain the corresponding stabilization in ergometer performance

times over the last years of assessment.